Today, police forces all over the world use archaeological techniques to help them solve crimes – and archaeologists are using the same methods to identify and investigate crimes in the past.

This book introduces some of those techniques, and explains how they have been used not only to solve modern crimes, but also to investigate past wrong-doing. Archaeological and historical evidence of crimes from mankind's earliest days is presented, as well as evidence of how criminals were judged and punished.
Each society has had a different approach to law and order, and these approaches are discussed here with examples ranging from Ancient Egypt to Victorian England – police forces, courts, prisons and executions have all left their traces in the physical and written records. The development of forensic approaches to crime is also discussed as ways to collect and analyse evidence were invented by pioneer criminologists.

From the murder of a Neanderthal man to bank fraud in the 19th century, via ancient laws about religion and morality and the changes in social conditions and attitudes, a wide range of cases are included – some terrible crimes, some amusing anecdotes and some forms of ancient law-breaking that remain very familiar.

The book presents an understanding of the science, skills and craft of the archaeologist and how these can be used to unravel many criminal mysteries providing evidence for the prosecution....

... The work is aimed at the general reader and is an excellent read, very informative with lots of examples of misdeeds.

Police History Society Newsletter

An excellent read, very informative with lots of examples of misdeeds.

Oxford & Cambridge Club Military History Group

About Julie Rosemary Wileman

Julie has a published PhD on the subject of the identification of warfare in prehistoric (pre-Roman) societies from archaeological evidence gained from both excavation and landscape survey. Julie has studies archaeology at both UCL and the University of Winchester as well as teaching archaeology at the University of Winchester, the University of Surrey, WEA and local groups giving talks and lectures. Julie is the Finds Officer at a medieval leper hospital, which is also the major training excavation for the University of Winchester